The problem which has existed for a considerable period of time in providing farrowing houses has been that the house has lacked weather-tightness and insulation to guard the sow during the farrowing period against extreme changes in weather. There has also been the problem of providing protection for the pigs after birth without creating for the sow the impression of being caged and prevented from turning around within the house, which caged impression creates stress within the sow. Some improvement in farrowing houses has been exhibited by the disclosure in Scamman U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,396 which issued Nov. 9, 1965. The farrowing house in this disclosure has not considered the stress effect when the sow is confined or restricted, and it lacks provision for adequately insulating the housing structure and providing for adequate access for cleaning.
A further example of farrowing house structure is found in Sievers et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,093 which issued Mar. 2, 1976 and refers to a portable farrowing house. Installation and removal of the farrowing bed requires an excessively large opening since the farrowing bed is not collapsible as it would thereby lose its ability to protect the pigs when the sow is inside the house.